Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A UK university appoints a responsible-metrics lead and adopts the report's five principles in its research strategy.
- Is an instance
REF 2021 panels rely on expert review with metrics used cautiously, following the report's recommendation.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
An internal ranking tool used by a department applies citation thresholds without expert moderation.
- Not an instance
An institution publicises league-table positions without acknowledging the indicators' limitations.
Editorial commentary
Formally titled ‘The Metric Tide: Report of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment and Management’, the review was commissioned in 2014 by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and published July 2015, chaired by James Wilsdon. It concluded no set of metrics could currently replace expert peer review in UK research assessment, and set out the principles of ‘responsible metrics’.
The five dimensions of responsible metrics
- Robustness: basing metrics on the best possible data, chosen to minimise systemic bias.
- Humility: quantitative evaluation should support, not substitute for, expert qualitative judgement.
- Transparency: keeping data collection and analysis open to scrutiny and challenge.
- Diversity: accounting for variation by field, using a range of indicators.
- Reflexivity: recognising and anticipating the systemic effects of metrics, and updating them in response.
What it recommended
Beyond the five R’s, the report argued against a metrics-only Research Excellence Framework (REF), favouring peer review informed by a ‘basket’ of indicators over reliance on any single number such as journal impact factor or citation counts. It also recommended a coordinating body for responsible-metrics practice — this became the Forum for Responsible Research Metrics.
Relationship to DORA and CoARA
DORA (2012) originated independently in the US biology community and focuses on eliminating journal-level metrics from individual assessment decisions; the Metric Tide is a UK-government-commissioned review with a broader remit covering the whole national assessment system. CoARA (2022) later formalised similar language into a Europe-wide coalition with defined institutional commitments. All three converge on the same position — indicators should inform, not replace, expert judgement.
Not the same as the 2022 follow-up review
This page covers the original 2015 report. A separate, later review — ‘Harnessing the Metric Tide’, published December 2022 — revisited these findings roughly seven years on. See the Metric Tide Review for that follow-up; the two are distinct publications by overlapping but not identical author teams.
Frequently asked questions
Who commissioned the report?
HEFCE commissioned it in 2014; it was published July 2015, chaired by James Wilsdon.
Did it recommend banning metrics from the REF?
No — it recommended against a metrics-only REF, favouring peer review informed by a diverse basket of indicators.
What is the Forum for Responsible Research Metrics?
A UK cross-sector body established following the report’s recommendation, coordinating responsible-metrics practice across funders and institutions.
References
- Wilsdon J et al., ‘The Metric Tide’, HEFCE, July 2015 (doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.4929.1363). Forum for Responsible Research Metrics.
Also known as
The Metric Tide · Wilsdon Review (2015)
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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